The Wildcats will have a chance to excise some demons in their final non-conference game of the regular season – Blue Demons that is.
No. 14 Northwestern (36-11) will travel to Chicago this afternoon to take on DePaul (27-19) in the “Purple Express Series.” DePaul ended NU’s 2005 season by sweeping two games in the NCAA Super Regionals.
With those painful losses still fresh and her team coming off of a 3-1 weekend in the Big Ten, coach Kate Drohan is confident her team will have plenty of motivation.
“This team gets it,” Drohan said. “I didn’t have to work hard to get them ready to play (Sunday). They were relaxed and played good softball, and I think it will be the same (today).”
The Cats had entered their Super Regionals battle against the Blue Demons with a lot of momentum after fighting their way out of their Regional’s consolation bracket. NU was on a three-game winning streak, having advanced by beating Notre Dame twice in a row.
All that momentum went for naught against DePaul, which abruptly ended NU’s run with 4-0 and 4-3 wins. Just like that, the second-winningest season in school history was over.
“It was very difficult,” catcher Jamie Dotson said. “DePaul is a great team, but we are also. They ended our season, so I think there’s a great competition between us. This game is very important to us. We’re fired up.”
In the first game of the series, DePaul got on the board early against NU starter Eileen Canney, plating three runs in the first three innings. Meanwhile, the Cats couldn’t touch Blue Demons’ starter Megan Huitink, who shut them out on six hits.
With the Cats facing elimination the next day, they gave up a run in the first but evened the game in top of the fifth. However, the tie was short-lived, as the Blue Demons scored three times in the bottom of the inning. NU notched runs in the sixth and seventh, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.
“It really, really sucked,” Canney said. “I know every person on our team can’t wait to play them and have another shot at them. We’re all excited and we want revenge.”
NU looks to be in position to get it, as the team has played well of late. Before losing to Michigan in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Cats had won 11 games in a row.
If Canney gets the call today, the Blue Demons figure to see a much different pitcher than the one they tagged for six runs in seven innings in the postseason. In her last 62.2 innings, Canney has given up just three earned runs.
Meanwhile, DePaul comes into the game headed in the opposite direction. The Blue Demons have lost four straight after being swept by Big East foes Louisville and South Florida this past weekend. Still, Drohan expects a battle.
“DePaul is always a very tough team to play, especially at this time of year,” she said.
Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].
